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vcarella's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
carol_c26's review against another edition
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
enjoyed this sequel!
rkw2017's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Ok so I think the actual plot wasn't that bad. I happen to like the grumpy uptight posh bitch meets down to earth handywoman rom com. And I think maybe her writing of sex scenes did get better (though there were still entirely too many "the other womans" for my liking). And what queer woman hasn't dated a woman having an identity crisis because her mommy issues have caused every decision in her life to be made in order to be successful and win her mother's approval?
It was just done by an elitist author that doesn't like or know any queer people or how to write and was told this would be a bestselling book because being queer is "hot right now." As is evidenced by (1) describing thoughts of queer sex as evil/wicked on multiple occasions and (2) the quick little pop in facts about trans and POC people, without feeling the need to include them as characters--other than as briefly-mentioned side chracters where we only know their race or gender identity or on tarot cards.
But that might actually be for the best, because she did absolutely no research for the characters or the plot and none of the characters were that likeable, probably because their language and descriptions were indistinguishable from each other. Their interests in design/carpentry were not thought out enough but for some reason we had to know about every astrology card in the deck. And she was weirdly obsessed with using people's full names, the phrase "could only be described as", and their mouths with rosebud lips or vampire teeth. I fundamentally do not understand how this series could be this popular. Overall, the terrible writing quality and performative allyship overshadow any redeeming qualities.
It was just done by an elitist author that doesn't like or know any queer people or how to write and was told this would be a bestselling book because being queer is "hot right now." As is evidenced by (1) describing thoughts of queer sex as evil/wicked on multiple occasions and (2) the quick little pop in facts about trans and POC people, without feeling the need to include them as characters--other than as briefly-mentioned side chracters where we only know their race or gender identity or on tarot cards.
But that might actually be for the best, because she did absolutely no research for the characters or the plot and none of the characters were that likeable, probably because their language and descriptions were indistinguishable from each other. Their interests in design/carpentry were not thought out enough but for some reason we had to know about every astrology card in the deck. And she was weirdly obsessed with using people's full names, the phrase "could only be described as", and their mouths with rosebud lips or vampire teeth. I fundamentally do not understand how this series could be this popular. Overall, the terrible writing quality and performative allyship overshadow any redeeming qualities.
ashction's review against another edition
4.0
didn't like it quite as much as Delilah Green but still so cute!
geodoble's review against another edition
3.0
Cute realistic enemies to lovers trope romance, where the main character works through her undeveloped feelings towards any potential love interest outside of her mother’s watchful eyes.
It really is a cute story with a plot line of figuring yourself out in the queer community, and learning to be who you are without someone dictating those decisions. My only one downside with romance series like this is you know who’s ‘next’ to fall in love, even though I constantly read fluff like this I find it lazy. It’s the same characters regardless, but I can’t wait for Iris’ turn, fuck Jillian!
It really is a cute story with a plot line of figuring yourself out in the queer community, and learning to be who you are without someone dictating those decisions. My only one downside with romance series like this is you know who’s ‘next’ to fall in love, even though I constantly read fluff like this I find it lazy. It’s the same characters regardless, but I can’t wait for Iris’ turn, fuck Jillian!
jaslyn_'s review against another edition
4.5
In all honesty i did approach this with a bit of caution since i did find Astrid rather cold/insufferable in the first book and that kinda started me off with negative investment towards her (that eased up towards the end). the premise of the book started off her headspace very well and this held true for Jordan as well. Once again AHB has a gorgeous way in which she gets us invested in her characters and each one of them feels entire drawn from a different palette despite the usual formula of haemorraghing them with familial/other issues. Personally I liked Claire better as a FMC but this is probably just down to preference.
the enemies to lovers trope did play out well and the romance was fine. big bonus brownie points for the gradual late-life discovery of a person's sexuality and i felt this wasn't rushed in anyway. i enjoyed how this was eased up. I would have thrown the book at the wall if Astrid just suddenly woke up gay for Jordan. The way Jordan handled this discovery was also realistic.
I do find that there are several problems regarding the pinch - which felt a bit contrived (the whole fucking home reno thing was contrived despite the author's attempts to play up the stakes here) and Meredith's motivations seemed unnecessarily harsh. Despite Isabel's menacing foil her resolution was also paced too quickly. The pinch resolved too quickly. Astrid failing upwards despite the freaking title and how much we got invested into her teetering on the brink of failure also felt like a massive cop out. But well AHB wants to give us a happy ending, I guess
solid 4
loved it still!
the enemies to lovers trope did play out well and the romance was fine. big bonus brownie points for the gradual late-life discovery of a person's sexuality and i felt this wasn't rushed in anyway. i enjoyed how this was eased up. I would have thrown the book at the wall if Astrid just suddenly woke up gay for Jordan. The way Jordan handled this discovery was also realistic.
I do find that there are several problems regarding the pinch - which felt a bit contrived (the whole fucking home reno thing was contrived despite the author's attempts to play up the stakes here) and Meredith's motivations seemed unnecessarily harsh. Despite Isabel's menacing foil her resolution was also paced too quickly. The pinch resolved too quickly. Astrid failing upwards despite the freaking title and how much we got invested into her teetering on the brink of failure also felt like a massive cop out. But well AHB wants to give us a happy ending, I guess
solid 4
loved it still!
cobaltbookshelf's review against another edition
3.0
I really liked Delilah book so I was excited to read this one. In some parts is better then first one like characters development but first part did nothing for me with romance. Last part was best part of this book.
jbeauchamp97's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to finish my reading this year with a book that did not require a lot of deep thinking, something lighthearted. This technically fit the bill, but i was disappointed in this sequel.
Delilah Green felt like such a genuine and passionate queer romance, full of dynamic, charming characters whose sexuality made up only a part of their full motif. Astrid Parker (a character who is annoying at best) felt like the complete opposite. The book read like a painful Hallmark movie with Wattpad-quality sex scenes.
I think this book tried to force LGBTQ themes simply for the sake of stating them. It felt tokenizing to have stated that a minor character was a different race or nonbinary, just to check a box that these static characters were diverse. It felt performative. Nothing in this sequel felt authentic, and despite the low rating, I’m hoping that Iris Kelly’s story is more robust, and i still plan on finished the trilogy. Sorry Astrid :/
Delilah Green felt like such a genuine and passionate queer romance, full of dynamic, charming characters whose sexuality made up only a part of their full motif. Astrid Parker (a character who is annoying at best) felt like the complete opposite. The book read like a painful Hallmark movie with Wattpad-quality sex scenes.
I think this book tried to force LGBTQ themes simply for the sake of stating them. It felt tokenizing to have stated that a minor character was a different race or nonbinary, just to check a box that these static characters were diverse. It felt performative. Nothing in this sequel felt authentic, and despite the low rating, I’m hoping that Iris Kelly’s story is more robust, and i still plan on finished the trilogy. Sorry Astrid :/